HNIC Star Selector - Game 1 Preview - Canucks vs Predators

All right Canuck fans, you can breathe again! The dragon has been slaughtered, the demons exorcised, and it's time to focus on your second round opponents from Nashville. Now if you can name more than 1 player on the Predators roster, with the exception of Shea Weber and Pekka Rinne, than you are smarter than the average NHL fan. Truth is, the Predators get very little media attention in Canada and if you don't have the NHL Center Ice subscription you would have been hard pressed to witness any of their games. That said, this in an interesting second round match up, as Nashville's roster possesses both a Vezina (Pekka Rinne) and Norris (Shea Weber) trophy candidate, along with a top end shut down forward in ex-Ottawa Senator, Mike Fisher.

It will be interesting to see the impact of the quick turnaround on the Vancouver Canucks. Just 48 hours ago, the Canucks were staring down a playoff collapse of epic proportions and a brewing goalie controversy that would have dominated story lines for an entire summer. One Alex Burrows slapshot and 31 Roberto Luongo saves later, a playoff disaster has been exchanged for playoff momentum. The question is, will this transfer to the Roger Center ice later tonight?

Quick Hits:
Vancouver and Nashville finished 1 - 2 respectively in goals against during the regular season. However, Vancouver scored 45 more goals than the Preds.

The Teams split their season series, 2 - 2, with Nashville outscoring the Canucks by an 8 to 6 margin.